Ex-Deltona manager said she feared firing

Published: Tuesday, February 5, 2013 at 12:23 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, February 5, 2013 at 8:31 p.m.

DELTONA — A day after the City Commission voted suddenly to accept her resignation, outgoing City Manager Faith Miller said Tuesday she decided not to fight for her job when it became apparent she was going to face another call for her firing.

Miller, who served as city manager for five years after 12 years as Deltona's city clerk, was replaced on an interim basis by her deputy manager, Dave Denny.

Commissioner Chris Nabicht – a former deputy fire chief whose own job was eliminated by Miller in 2011 – met with Miller on Friday and told her he planned to call for her firing if she didn't quit first.

But Miller said she later heard from a second unnamed commissioner who indicated support for a move to fire her, and at least two other commissioners, Zenaida Denizac and Fred Lowry, had voted to fire her two years earlier.

"It might have been 4-3 (to fire me)," Miller said. "I've been through sitting there in that chair being accused, and I've seen that from other elected bodies... You don't get an opportunity to defend yourself."

She stayed home from work on Monday, with a City Commission meeting scheduled for that night. She called Mayor John Masiarczyk about two hours before the meeting with an offer – she would resign so long as it was treated as a termination for the purposes of awarding her the full severance package in her contract.

City officials have yet to put a dollar value on that package, but it includes one year's salary – $133,100 – plus health insurance, life insurance, and short- and long-term disability, as well as compensation for unused vacation and sick leave.

Commissioners unanimously accepted those terms without questions or discussion about cost or the reason for a change in leadership for Volusia County's largest city. There was an eight-minute discussion about the mechanics of the arrangement, but the mayor steered commissioners away from discussing Miller's performance.

"Ma'am," Masiarczyk responded, "I would like to know what all seven of us have in our minds ... (Miller) said, 'I love this city. I've worked here too long rather than see this city have any more friction and have any more battles, I'll do what I think is appropriate so you can move forward.'

"So we have no discussion about it and we move forward. The less discussion, I think, the better," the mayor said.

Miller, who was home watching a broadcast of the meeting, said she had not discussed the resignation-for-severance deal with any commissioners other than the mayor. She said she appreciated Masiarczyk steering the discussion away from controversy.

Commissioner Lowry said Tuesday the move is best for the city because Miller's leadership style has long divided residents and commissioners.

"I had quite a few people when I was running (in 2010) come up to me and say we probably could do better there," Lowry said.

Lowry said he did not meet with Miller prior to the meeting but said he had heard a rumor that her termination might come up and he probably would have voted for that.

Lowry said he wasn't sure the mayor should have "handcuffed us" by not allowing more discussion of Miller's offer, but added, "I respected that Monday night."

At recent meetings, commissioners talked openly of their growing sense of unity, but Miller continued to face sharp questions. On Jan. 22, the commission voted to have all legal matters go directly through the city attorney's office, rather than the city manager.

Last week, in looking ahead at the 2013-14 budget talks, Miller had a draft survey prepared on an existing software program at no cost. She forwarded a draft to city commissioners before seeking responses. Nabicht, who was elected in November, and Masiarczyk both said they didn't feel the draft survey would provide valuable information.

On Friday, Nabicht wrote in an email: "Need more specific info, i.e. what type of housing, list the cuts, of course people value most of the things on this list. What does this tell us. Not very well done."

Miller's response: "We will re-address the survey. I am sorry that you feel it was 'not very well done;' we are very limited as to the type of responses allowed on the software that was used to create the survey."

In some commissioners' eyes, Miller never rose above the image she had as a city clerk – a competent operational manager who lacked the forceful personality of an executive steering the city.

<p>DELTONA &mdash; A day after the City Commission voted suddenly to accept her resignation, outgoing City Manager Faith Miller said Tuesday she decided not to fight for her job when it became apparent she was going to face another call for her firing. </p><p>Miller, who served as city manager for five years after 12 years as Deltona's city clerk, was replaced on an interim basis by her deputy manager, Dave Denny. </p><p>Commissioner Chris Nabicht – a former deputy fire chief whose own job was eliminated by Miller in 2011 – met with Miller on Friday and told her he planned to call for her firing if she didn't quit first. </p><p>Initially, Miller told Nabicht: "I'm not going to resign under pressure." </p><p>But Miller said she later heard from a second unnamed commissioner who indicated support for a move to fire her, and at least two other commissioners, Zenaida Denizac and Fred Lowry, had voted to fire her two years earlier. </p><p>"It might have been 4-3 (to fire me)," Miller said. "I've been through sitting there in that chair being accused, and I've seen that from other elected bodies... You don't get an opportunity to defend yourself." </p><p>She stayed home from work on Monday, with a City Commission meeting scheduled for that night. She called Mayor John Masiarczyk about two hours before the meeting with an offer – she would resign so long as it was treated as a termination for the purposes of awarding her the full severance package in her contract. </p><p>City officials have yet to put a dollar value on that package, but it includes one year's salary – $133,100 – plus health insurance, life insurance, and short- and long-term disability, as well as compensation for unused vacation and sick leave. </p><p>Commissioners unanimously accepted those terms without questions or discussion about cost or the reason for a change in leadership for Volusia County's largest city. There was an eight-minute discussion about the mechanics of the arrangement, but the mayor steered commissioners away from discussing Miller's performance. </p><p>At one point, Denizac, the vice mayor, said: "I want to know what's going on here. That's my bottom line." </p><p>"Ma'am," Masiarczyk responded, "I would like to know what all seven of us have in our minds ... (Miller) said, 'I love this city. I've worked here too long rather than see this city have any more friction and have any more battles, I'll do what I think is appropriate so you can move forward.' </p><p>"So we have no discussion about it and we move forward. The less discussion, I think, the better," the mayor said. </p><p>Miller, who was home watching a broadcast of the meeting, said she had not discussed the resignation-for-severance deal with any commissioners other than the mayor. She said she appreciated Masiarczyk steering the discussion away from controversy. </p><p>Commissioner Lowry said Tuesday the move is best for the city because Miller's leadership style has long divided residents and commissioners. </p><p>"I had quite a few people when I was running (in 2010) come up to me and say we probably could do better there," Lowry said. </p><p>Lowry said he did not meet with Miller prior to the meeting but said he had heard a rumor that her termination might come up and he probably would have voted for that. </p><p>Lowry said he wasn't sure the mayor should have "handcuffed us" by not allowing more discussion of Miller's offer, but added, "I respected that Monday night." </p><p>At recent meetings, commissioners talked openly of their growing sense of unity, but Miller continued to face sharp questions. On Jan. 22, the commission voted to have all legal matters go directly through the city attorney's office, rather than the city manager. </p><p>Last week, in looking ahead at the 2013-14 budget talks, Miller had a draft survey prepared on an existing software program at no cost. She forwarded a draft to city commissioners before seeking responses. Nabicht, who was elected in November, and Masiarczyk both said they didn't feel the draft survey would provide valuable information. </p><p>On Friday, Nabicht wrote in an email: "Need more specific info, i.e. what type of housing, list the cuts, of course people value most of the things on this list. What does this tell us. Not very well done."</p><p>Miller's response: "We will re-address the survey. I am sorry that you feel it was 'not very well done;' we are very limited as to the type of responses allowed on the software that was used to create the survey." </p><p>In some commissioners' eyes, Miller never rose above the image she had as a city clerk – a competent operational manager who lacked the forceful personality of an executive steering the city. </p><p>"We really need a strong CEO-type leader," Lowry said Tuesday. "That's the way our charter is designed." </p><p>Masiarczyk credited Miller with leading the city through difficult financial days, when property values dropped by more than 60 percent and she had to make difficult budget cutbacks.</p>